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Author
Topic: HIV and TB test (Read 12450 times)

My question is somewhat unusual. 4 months ago I went in to get a TB test for a new job. The girl who administered the test did not wear gloves, which I didn't notice until it was too late. I didn't really think anything of it at the time, but lately it's been weighing on my mind. I didn't see any blood on her hands or anything like that, but I thought health care providers were always supposed to wear gloves when performing these types of procedures.

"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

I think they are scared of infecting them with Fear Andy. That's the only thing I see her suffering from.

R

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NB. Any advice about HIV is given in addition to your own medical advice and not intended to replace it. You should never make clinical decisions based on what anyone says on the internet but rather check with your ID doctor first. Discussions from the internet are just that - Discussions. They may give you food for thought, but they should not direct you to do anything but fuel discussion.

I know I probably sound like a complete loon. It's just that not only did my gyno not wash her hands, she only wore a glove on the hand that she was examining me with. She handled the instruments she used on me with her other hand and that makes me nervous. I have all these what ifs. What if she had blood or vaginal secretions on her bare hand? What if that blood got on the instruments and then was passed onto me?

I know all this is highly unlikely, and I read the lessons and I've done my research. I know HIV doesn't live outside the body for more than a few minutes, so even if there was something on her bare hand, she probably couldn't have infected me. Still, I can't help but wonder. Is there a chance that I got infected? Or is all of this in my head?

You have every right to ask a doctor or other health care professional to wash their hands in front of you. There are pathogens that get passed around hospitals and other health care settings as a direct result of poor hand-washing practice.

However, hiv is not one of them.

At the hospital I attend in the UK, all the nurses carry a clip-on bottle of antibacterial hand gel that can be used without water.

Instead of coming here to discuss this, I suggest you take your concerns to your doc. This is NOT an hiv situation, but this IS an hiv website.

As long as you're here, you might as well educate yourself. Hiv is going to be with us for a long time to come.

You need to be using condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, every time, no exceptions until such time as you are in a securely monogamous relationship where you have both tested for ALL STIs together. To agree to have unprotected intercourse is to consent to the possibility of being infected with a sexually transmitted infection.

Have a look through the condom and lube links in my signature line so you can make sure your fella is using them properly. While you're on either of those pages, have a look through the bottom three links in the left-hand column. They discuss ways that you, as a woman, can protect yourself. I recommend the female condom as they are also excellent barriers against hiv infection, and importantly, they give YOU the control over condom use. They can even be put in place in advance so you're not fumbling around at the crucial moment. They're fiddly to use at first, but if you can put a tampon in, you can use these. It gets easier with practice. Give them a try.

Use condoms for intercourse and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Well, I am in therapy regarding my intense fear of HIV. About a month ago I was hit in the arm (at a hospital) with a bag containing dirty linen. I was certain there was a hypodermic needle that pricked me, even though everyone told me that that's not possible as needles are disposed of in sharps containers, not linen bags. Anyway, I've been so upset that I am now in therapy.

Here's my question: My therapist said that HIV might not show up in a blood test for years and years. She said it's rare for that to happen, but that it has happened. Is this true?

Even though I'm in therapy, I still can't help but think that I may have been infected with HIV because of my latest incident.

I work in a hospital (not directly with patients) and I was walking down the hallway. The housekeeper was throwing a large plastic bag filled with dirty linen (I think it was dirty linen) into the trash bin, and he accidentally hit my arm with the bag. I don't think I felt a sharp pain, but I can't remember as this happened a month ago. Anyway, I went to employee health and the nurse practitioner looked at my arm (which was red) and told me I have nothing to worry about. She could not see a puncture wound. Another nurse looked at my arm as well and also could not see a puncture wound. When I came home, my fiance also did not see anything.

I was tested for HIV, hepatitis, syphilis 19 days after this incident. All tests were negative.

My fear is that there might have been an infected needle in the linen bag and that it was infected with HIV. How long can HIV live inside a hypedermic needle?

You do NOT need to work in a hospital so long as you have a debilitating mental condition.

And you know this.

You also know what we will say here on this site regarding your experiences and irrational thought. Which leads me to believe you are coming here as part of your pathology. The flagellation of others in order to reinforce the underlying behaviour.

I withdraw from further conversation, as I hate being an unwilling participant in someone's pathology.

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"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

My employer told me I was fine, that there was no needle in the bag, and that I need to take a leave of absence until I'm back to normal. They won't tell me how long the virus can live inside a needle and that's all I want to know. Please, does anyone have an answer?

That really is the whole story. Aside from that, I have moderate - severe OCD, which I am on medication for. I have a severe fear of germs, and especially HIV. This incident with the bag hitting my arm is my only risk. I only have one sexual partner, my fiance who does not have HIV, we don't do any drugs, I don't even drink alcohol. I'm just scared that if there was a needle in the bag, I could have gotten infected. Please help.

This needle in a haystack theory of yours is rather far-fetched and I think you realise this on some level. Perhaps it's time for an appointment with your therapist to review your drug regimen and have some top-up talk therapy sessions.

Thankfully, hiv is a fragile difficult to transmit virus and as long as you use condoms for intercourse, you are not going to become infected.

Please discuss your OCD related problems with your therapist - we cannot help you with that here.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

You guys were right about my OCD problem and I am doing everything I can to get better. I quit my job at the hospital and I am now on new medication.

Unfortunately, something happened yesterday which I think really did put me at risk. I got someone else's blood on my hand at work. A woman I work with cut herself and was bleeding. It wasn't a serious wound or anything, just a cut. Anyway, a couple minutes later she came up to me and wanted to look at my wedding ring. While she was looking at it, she touched my hand and got just a little bit of blood on me. As soon as I realized I had her blood on my hand, I washed it off and used antibacterial stuff. I then talked to her about it and she said that I have nothing to worry about. She's been married to the same guy for 25 years, doesn't engage in risky behavior, etc. But I'm still worried. I didn't have any open cuts where she got her blood on me, but I did have a small, fresh cut on the opposite side of my hand.

Please tell me that I'm just being paranoid and this is just my disorder driving me crazy. Would it be completely inappropriate to ask her to get tested?

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

After all your testing YOU ARE NOT HIV POSITIVE...PERIOD People with HIV aren't the only ones that get thrush or any other symptoms. You can not diagnosis HIV by symptoms. You are negative, now move on with your life